2024-04-01 11:37:22
Text: Raúl del Pino
Foto: Conor P. Fitzgerald | Shutterstock
If there is any agreement among the always controversial Cuban baseball fans, it is that the surname Gurriel occupies the throne in terms of pedigree and cachet in the rich history of national baseball. The legacy that Lourdes Gurriel Delgado built in the National Series and with the four-letter suit in the 80s and 90s of the last century was continued by her three children, especially the two youngest, who managed to reach the highest level of the MLB.
Yuliesky in particular, many experts consider him to be the most popular player born on the island, but his emergence into the Major Leagues at the age of more than 30 prevented him from becoming the star that he did become in Cuba, although he achieved several milestones full of admiration such as his two World Series rings, or the American League batting crown in 2021, at 37 years of age.
His younger brother Lourdes Jr., however, landed in the Big Top at the dawn of his career and, based on tenacity and talent, has been able to make a name for himself. In his first four seasons in Toronto, he left notable signs of quality, until he was traded to Arizona in the winter of 2022.
When many thought he would regress on his new team, there in the desert he unlocked a higher level of his game, which led him to his first All Star Game in 2023 and made him shine in the postseason, where he fell just short of the title.
Lourdes Yunielki, as her two official names say, renewed with the Cascabeles for three years and 42 million dollars at the end of last year. And the heir to the “pineapple power” wants every penny of his juicy contract to count from day one, since last night he became the protagonist of the Cuban army on the Opening Day of the nascent season.
Wearing his already emblematic number 12, manager Torey Lovullo gave him the responsibility of occupying the third shift in the lineup of the World Series runners-up. The news suited Gurriel like a glove and he thanked it with a lightning home run in his first at-bat of the campaign.
As if that were not enough, in the next two appearances in the batter’s box, he hit another pair of hits with which he added five RBIs in just three innings and the same number of times at bat, to establish a new record for the Phoenix franchise. in an inaugural game, according to the specialized portal Baseball Reference.
With his spectacular night against Colorado pitching, Lourdes Jr. crowned the best Cuban performance on opening day, but he was not the only one who stole headlines, since Yandy Díaz and José Adolis García also sent the ball into the stands . With these three Antillean home runs, this Thursday went down in history as the first opening day in which something like this happened.
The Tampa Bay leadoff began the schedule at the same level as the previous one, where it led the hitters of the new circuit and, in addition to the home run, had two other hits to end the day 4-3, with one run scored and two RBIs.
The strong Texas fourth hitter, for his part, continued the formidable form with which he was proclaimed champion with the Texas Rangers. After hitting a rocket through third base in his second at-bat of the night, he disappeared between left and center to tie the score at that point in the game. A 4-2 record, with a home run, walk and RBI, is an excellent start for one of the great Cuban luminaries currently active in MLB.
Beyond these three home run hitters, another 10 Cubans saw action on the first official day of the 2024 season. Bat in hand, slugger Yordan Álvarez also stood out, going 2-for-5 in the Astros’ loss to the Yankees. where his teammate José Abreu (3-0), and the left-handed Néstor Cortés also made their discreet debut, who as the New Yorkers’ starter allowed four earned runs in five innings and ended without a decision.
The duel between Detroit Tigers and Chicago White Sox was attended by three Caribbeans who participated in the Cuba team that attended the V World Classic. For Michigan, Andy Ibáñez (2-1) batted first in the set and recorded the only RBI of the game with a sacrifice fly. On the opposite side, Luis Robert Jr. scored an infield hit in four at-bats, while Yoan Moncada, the highest paid of all Cubans in MLB, went blank in the same number of times at bat.
Two sluggers from whom a lot is expected did not get off to a good start either. Randy Arozarena could not emulate his teammate Yandy Díaz and failed four times against the Blue Jays pitching, occupying third place in Tampa’s battery. Meanwhile, Jorge Soler lined up second in his debut with the San Francisco Giants but failed to score on three occasions. The other Cuban position player who saw action was Dayron Blanco, who acted as a pinch runner for the Kansas City Royals.
From the box, in addition to Cortés’ discreet opening with the Yankees, Aroldis Champán was the other Antillean pitcher who worked this Thursday. The flamethrower from Holguin pitched for the first time with his new Pittsburg Pirates squad, although he did so in an unusual sixth inning, which he retired without complications, delivering his first strikeout of the season.